everyone is acting like it's dead in the water, and harry reid, hey, let's man up and try to do the right thing. we may surprise ourselves. >> don't be a wuss, right? >> right. don't be a wuss. >> i think they -- my thought, you can't have reaction to what happened up in connecticut without dealing with the weapon used, the bushmaster. >> absolutely. >> unless that's on your hit list of weapons you want to keep from the crazies at least. and maybe keep off the streets, period. >> and, again, i think you're right there. that's going to be part of where the conversation is going to go from here on out. >> you have to go after the weapon used in the case. thank you, governor rendell and michael steele. >>> president obama's next battle with congress may have just gotten a bit easier. chuck schumer, a leader in the senate, has given his stamp of approval for chuck hagel as the next secretary of defense. hagel's nomination is another example we think here at "hardball" of obama's newfound fighting spirit, and we like it, of course. from the debt ceiling to the nra to the neocons. taking them o